GOD ALONE IS GOOD

XVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 13:24-43

With the psalmist, we must proclaim:

“O Lord, you are good and forgiving,

  full of love to all who call.” (Ps 86)

To the rich man who called Jesus “good teacher”, Jesus answered, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mk 10:18) Indeed, only God is good, completely and perfectly good. And God shows his goodness by caring for everything. The first reading, taken from the book of Wisdom, says exactly that: “There is no god, other than you, who cares for every thing.” His caring goodness reveals his power. God’s power is not oppressive. On the contrary, because He is all-powerful, He can show leniency to all: "Your sovereignty over all makes you lenient to all.” Indeed, “disposing of such strength, you are mild in judgement, you govern us with great lenience.” And this is a lesson to us:

“By acting thus you have taught a lesson to your people how the virtuous man must be kindly to his fellow men, and you have given your sons the good hope that after sin you will grant repentance.” (Wisdom 12:13, 16-19).

Recognising that God alone is good, we must accept that our goodness is always full of cracks and holes. Our goodness is always tainted by and mixed with evil. That’s why we should not judge and condemn others. It is easier to see the speck in the other’s eye, ignoring the log that is in ours (Mt 7:3). In our self-righteousness, we are ready to condemn others and absolve ourselves of our misdeeds.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus tells us the parable of the wheat field that has darnel growing together with it. The workers could not understand where it had come from and were ready to uproot the darnel, thus getting rid of it. The owner of the field refused, explaining to the workers that they would not be able to distinguish the darnel from the wheat. As a result, they would do great damage to the crop, confusing the wheat with the darnel, causing a great loss to the owner of the field.

Throughout the centuries, there have been groups and movements that see all those who do not belong to them as evil people who should be eradicated from society so that we remain with a society of the pure, the just and the righteous. In the end, they commit crimes against those they see as outsiders and non-compliant.

The parable is a warning against this attitude, presenting a completely different solution. The darnel will be separated from the wheat – that is, the evil from the good – at the end of times, and that will be done by the angels, not by human beings judging other human beings. And Jesus ended the parable explanation, saying, 'Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!”